Kyrgyzstan

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals on stamps and postmarks of Kyrgyzstan

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Contents:

• Country overview
• Philately of Kyrgyzstan
• Official stamps of "Kyrgyz Pochtasy" related to Paleontology
• Postmarks of "Kyrgyz Pochtasy" related to Paleontology
• Official stamps of "Kyrgyz Express Post" related to Paleontology
• Postmarks of "Kyrgyz Express Post" related to Paleontology
• References
• Acknowledgements

Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, formerly known as Kirghizia, is a landlocked country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south west and China to the east. Its capital and largest city is Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan has historically been at the crossroads of several great civilizations, namely as part of the Silk Road and other commercial and cultural routes. Though long inhabited by a succession of independent tribes and clans, Kyrgyzstan has periodically come under foreign domination and attained sovereignty as a nation-state only after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. ^[R1]

The postal history of Kyrgyzstan began when the nation declared independence in August 1991. Under the Soviet Union, the Kyrgyz SSR postal service was an integral part of the Soviet system.
Kyrgyzstan is a member state of the Universal Postal Union since 1993 with its two designated postal operators - the State Enterprise Kyrgyz Pochtasy (KP) who has produced stamps since 1992 and privately held Kyrgyz Express Post (KEP), who issued their first stamp on 18 November 2014. It’s the only member country of the UPU to have two official postal administrations issuing stamps for the country. ^[R2]

Kyrgyz Express Post LLC (KEP) has been operating in the postal market of Kyrgyzstan since March 16, 2012 under the license granted by the State Communication Agency of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic, providing a wide range of postal, financial and other services both to individuals and legal entities.
KEP stamps represent a real payment instrument, ensuring payment for services of forwarding postal items from Kyrgyzstan to all UPU member countries. KEP stamps are sold at their face value. All mail sent with KEP stamps has to be franked and executed at KEP offices.
KEP stamps are a new phenomenon in the 175-year-old worldwide tradition of stamp issuing: for the first time in philatelic history the second postal operator of an UPU member country, designated according to article 2 of the Universal Postal Convention and operating throughout the entire territory of Kyrgyzstan, uses its own stamps for postage.
The stamps are being published in the most influential world catalogues.

Official stamps of "Kyrgyz Pochtasy" related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

04.12.1998 "Dinosaurs" [1]	08.12.2012 "Prehistoric Animals"

Official stamps of "Kyrgyz Express Post" related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals

30.04.2024 "Prehistoric animals of Kyrgyzstan" [2]

Notes:
[1] The stamps issued in Mini-Sheet of 6 stamps as well as in separated 6 sheets.
There are some forged Mini-Sheets available on the market. Many of them are offered on the Internet. The forged stamps are easily recognized as they have too much red and black color, making them appear blurry.

Original Mini-Sheet of Kyrgyzstan 1998, MiNr.: 147-152 (A - perforated, B- imperforated), Scott: 118a-f	Forged Mini-Sheet of Kyrgyzstan 1998. This forgery can be recognized by having too much red and black color, which makes the image appear blurry.

[2] The "Prehistoric animals of Kyrgyzstan" stamps were designed with support of Mr. Michael Kogan, the author of "Paleophilatelie.eu" website.
Kyrgyz Express Post expresses its appreciation for valuable consultative support in the preparation of this stamp issue to
Michael Kogan, the author of the website www.paleophilatelie.eu, and
Aizek Asanbekovich Bakirov, the acting director of the M. M. Adyshev Institute of Geology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Postmarks of "Kyrgyz Express Post" related to Paleontology: prehistoric animals

Legend is here

08.12.2012 "Prehistoric Animals" [FDC]

Postmarks of "Kyrgyz Express Post" related to Paleontology: prehistoric animals

Legend is here

30.04.2024 "Prehistoric Animals of Kyrgyzstan" [FDC]

References:

•   [R1] Kyrgyzstan: Wikipedia, WikiTravel, FlagCounter.
•   [R2] Postal History and Philately of Kyrgyzstan: Wikipedia, Kyrghyz stamp, Kyrgyz Express Post LLC
            Links to official website of the Post Authorities, stamp catalogs and a list of new stamps of Kyrgyzstan are here.

Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his valuable comments.

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